


5 Times They Were Caught and 1 Time They Weren't (Good For Each Other #1)

by jiminnienuggets



Series: Good For Each Other [1]
Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: 5 + 1 Fic, Alternate Universe - No Zombies, Drug Use, Happy Ending, M/M, Possible Prequel, Some Fluff, Some angst, and sequel?, but lol things don't always work out how you plan, mentions of abuse, this was supposed to be a fluffy cute fic i swear, when i say possible i mean definitely
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-07-15 11:20:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16062038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jiminnienuggets/pseuds/jiminnienuggets
Summary: Troy's and Nick's relationship as told by the... spying of other individuals.





	1. Alicia

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mrs_Tony_Padilla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mrs_Tony_Padilla/gifts).



> I'm gonna spam you guys with Trick fics it looks like. Honeslty I don't even make a plan; I write and I post however I feel. Is that what you call chaotic good? chaotic evil? Guess it depends on how long it takes me to write and post in that case.
> 
> This is another fic for Mrs_Tony_Padilla who requested a caught/found out story!! I've decided to post it in chapters so the chapters won't be really long and there will be 6 of them. I hope you guys enjoy and if you have a prompt (any rating, any subject so long as the pair is Trick) please feel free to leave it here or at my tumblr ( channiekangaroo ) !! Enjoy! Love you guys and love being in this fandom even though I'm so new to it <3

Alicia couldn’t help but notice the way her brother had somehow gotten… happier in the last few weeks. Ever since he’d come into his life… Troy Otto. She wasn’t sure how she felt about him, the things he said at times struck her as strange, but, there was one thing she enjoyed, and that was the effect that he had on her big brother.

She couldn’t honestly remember the last real family dinner they had had together where it hadn’t ended in a fight between Nick and their mom or Nick and Travis or Travis and her mom or all three of them, one that didn’t end with Nick running off, not to be seen or heard of from for days. 

But, now as she looked at her brother as they set the table, he was laughing and smiling, shooting looks towards Troy (one of their special guests of the night, the other being Matt who hadn’t arrived just yet) that seemed both annoyed and yet amused somehow. It was difficult not to like Troy just from the way Nick was acting. Better, not great, but better. Alicia could still see the signs of drug use in him, but he seemed… happy, and that was at least a start. 

She also wasn’t sure whether or not they were just friends, or something more, but by the way Troy’s eyes seemed to be locked on Nick, even when Nick wasn’t looking, she was at least sure one of them wanted something more. She made a silent note to herself to get Nick alone to ask. It was her sisterly duty to pry… at least a little bit. 

The bell rang and she cheerfully ran off to greet Matt and let him inside, dinner starting up soon not long afterwards. Alicia almost felt as if she were dreaming from the sounds of laughter coming from around the table, even through her mother’s obvious confusion and lingering worry over Nick. 

Whether she approved or not of Troy, she at least said nothing, and Alicia was happy about it--pleased that their mother could see that, despite some of the strange personality quirks Troy seemed to carry (including a heavy southern accent not too dissimilar from the one her mother tried to hide), he was an obvious good influence on Nick. 

Once they were done with dinner, Nick quickly volunteered himself and Troy for the cleanup. It shocked them all, including Troy, momentarily, but he quickly gained hold of himself and agreed, beginning to clear the table. 

Alicia watched as they went about cleaning up, not too much longer later, their mother and Travis deciding to break out a board game. Her mom sent her off to get Nick and Troy from wherever they had gotten off to. Not ever having seen them leave the kitchen, Alicia headed straight in that decoration, only to stop short of the door, covering her mouth and hiding. 

They weren’t doing anything much. Troy’s hand was on Nick’s waist as he leaned down, their lips pressed together. It was something slow and gentle, something he hadn’t seen her brother engage in since the one time he’d brought Gloria home, but that had ended in a fight and Nick grabbing Gloria’s hand and leaving, disappearing for three days before showing up on the doorstep. 

“You know…” Troy had broken away at this point and Alicia, being the nosy younger sister that she was, strained her ears in order to hear, peeking just around the frame to look at them. “I could kill you for saying those things to me.” His voice was joking, and he made no mention of what things he was talking about, but Nick seemed to know anyway.

“Yeah, I know.” Nick laughed, speaking carelessly and rubbed a hand along his boyfriend’s waist. “But you won’t. You like me too much. Troy Otto likes me too much.”

“He does.” Troy’s eyes sparkled with humor as he shook his head. “Now how did Nicky Clark manage to do that?” 

Alicia could almost hear the grin in her brother’s voice and it made her smile. “Guess he must just be the right sort of crazy to attract your attention.” There was a pause and then they both leaned in again, kissing each other for another moment.

She bit on her lip, glancing back at the living room where her mother, Travis, and Matt were waiting for them and then she cleared her throat. “Nick, Troy! Mom wants to play games--let’s go.”

They had broken apart when they heard her, stepping away from each other like they hadn’t just been kissing, but Alicia didn’t feel the need to interrupt their moment by letting her brother know she’d seen and heard. 

He smiled and leaned his hands on the counter. “We’ll be right out.” Alicia smiled back.


	2. Jake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to dedicate this specific chapter to the lovely Inkaley!! I binged read (most) of their Trick stories last night and left a horde of comments after they made my day with their comments on my own stories and they've been nothing but lovely replying to mine!
> 
> This chapter is a bit longer than the first one (lol, by about double). Something you'll come to find out with me... fluff is certainly not my area of expertise and this chapter is certainly not a fluff chapter! But gosh did I enjoy writing it so much!! I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I liked writing it!

Jake rubbed at his temples, trying to sooth the headache that was beginning to form. The case he was working on currently was a bit of a mess, one that involved property and what belong to whom and whom should get what. In fact, it reminded him a bit too much of the ranch for his tastes. It reminded him of Walker’s sly remarks about the land being stolen.

He shook the thought from his head. He was already tired from his current case; no need to bother himself with the accusations that Walker had always thrown around towards his family, most specifically, his father.

What he wanted to do was go home and just… relax for awhile. No noise, no interruptions, just himself and one of his favorite books--as well as maybe a nice cup of hot coffee, or two, or three. 

Troy shouldn’t be home. He was rarely home lately, after opting to spend time with his friend, boyfriend, Jake wasn’t sure. The two of them had met… actually, Jake wasn’t sure of that either. Come to think of it, Jake wasn’t really sure of anything when it came to Troy and--what was his name? Nick?

He wasn’t blind, the few times he’d met Nick, the boy, while polite enough, had been a little gazy, his words and sentences making less sense to him than he was sure they made to Nick himself. More than that, the one time he’d seen Nick in something other than a long sleeved shirt or jacket, he’d seen the track marks. 

Jake had shot his brother a look the moment he’d seen them, but of course Troy had pointedly ignored him. He couldn’t help but worry about his little brother. He knew Troy wasn’t stupid, he knew he could take care of himself, but still, he worried.

Troy had a hard life. Not to say his own was perfect, but Troy’s had been… something else. Soe days he still thought about the day he’d found Troy in the basement--locked down there for at least a day, having been forgot about by his mother, their father too drunk to even notice. 

Troy had been ten, Jake fifteen. Dried tears streaked his face as he curled up in the corner. When Jake had found him, he had said nothing, only looked at Jake before standing and leaving the basement. That was the last time Jake had seen any proof of Troy shedding tears, not even when his mother passed did he cry, at least, not where Jake could notice. 

Troy had grown up on the ranch ever since he had been pulled from school “for others’ safety”. Not being around others caused Troy to grow cold, caused him to lack the understanding of most basic human emotions. But that seemed to change the day Troy showed up on his door in LA, announcing he would be staying for awhile. Jake really hadn’t minded the idea of it but he had been shocked in general. Troy loved the ranch more than anything. To think he’d ever willingly leave it… but Jake decided not to ask and Troy didn’t offer up any explanations.

It wasn’t long after he moved himself in that Troy had met Nick and the two were suddenly attached at the hip. Troy acted different and although he’d never been interested in drugs before, he had also never learned to deal with the pressures from a friend. Mostly because he had never really had one, unless he counted Mike and, somehow, Jake didn’t think it was right to count Mike. 

Jake just hoped Troy was smart enough to say no i it ever came down to it.

His keys jingled a little as he fought to unlock the door without dropping his books and notes, only to find that the door was… already unlocked? Looking a little warily at the door before figuring that Troy must be home on a rare occasion, he adjusts himself and grabs the knob, heading inside to the small apartment. 

He almost wants to turn around and walk straight back the way he came, but he fought the urge. This was his apartment. He wasn’t going to be ushered out like this when all he really wanted to do was sleep. So he sighed softly and shut the door, walking over to the table and dropping his books noisily onto it, watching with slight amusement as Nick scrambled off of Troy and straight onto the ground. 

Troy didn’t seem too bothered by the fact his boyfriend (and by the way Nick had been really going at Troy’s face, almost as if he were a zombie trying to eat him, it was definitely boyfriend) had literally just fallen to the ground and instead took the time to wipe at his lips a little and Jake closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath.

Walking in on his brother making out with his boyfriend was honestly something that Jake had never thought he’d have to deal with in his entire life because--as bad as it sounds even to him--who would ever want to date Troy?

Someone who didn’t know him, that’s who.

Even just thinking it to himself, it was really harsh and Jake felt automatically horrible as he looked over, pasting a soft smile onto his face. “Sorry for interrupting--but I did text you, Troy.” And he had. He’d texted Troy letting him know that he was heading home and never got a response. It wasn’t really that much of a surprise that he’d never gotten a reply back. Troy didn’t use his phone all that much, not having much use for it on the ranch where reception really wasn’t the greatest. But it didn’t need to be; come the apocalypse, nobody would be using cell phones anyway, right?

Eventually, Nick had pushed his way up, standing there looking like a deer struck and Jake made no move to say anything. The younger man rubbed his hands along his pants before chuckling and looking between the two of them. “I should go--I’ve got… things.” It was an obvious excuse but Jake hoped those “things” wouldn’t end up involving drugs that he knew Nick did. 

Jake just nodded silently, standing at the table. He looked away when Nick moved in to kiss his brother, giving them some sort of privacy for politeness’ sake. He heard his brother give a soft bye (and it was so strange hearing his voice so soft and genuinely, not just because he was trying to achieve something) before Nick was shuffling over to the door. 

Nick gave him a little hesitant smile and Jake smiled back. He could almost see the relief on Nick’s face before the boy grabbed his jacket and headed out. And then there was silence. And then it was broken. 

“Troy, I think we need to talk about this.” Troy sighed and settled his feet firmly on the ground before pushing himself up with a raised eyebrow, looking like he totally didn’t want to have this talk.

He took in a breath. But he was Troy’s big brother and although Troy and him had their… difficulties at times, he still cared about him and wanted him to be okay. 

“I’ve seen the track marks.” Troy is still just kind of silent, looking at Jake as if waiting for him to continue. Jake had honestly expected Troy to say something at that, but when he hadn’t, he was thrown for a little bit of a loop. “Okay--so you are aware then?” 

“Of course I am.” The smile Troy gives is one of appeasement, not really meaning nor saying and Jake sighs again before pushing out a chair. His brother looks at it before going and sitting in it and it struck Jake just how much Troy looked like a kid in that moment, staring up at his brother and waiting for a scolding. It was all too similar to things that had actually happened in the past. 

“He hasn’t pulled you into this, right?” Jake was relieved when Troy actually looked insulted at the mere suggestion of it.

“No!” There was slight anger written on his face and Jake quickly sat down in the chair in front of him, putting himself on Troy’s level instead of standing above him. The slight movement made Troy’s face stiffen, but he didn’t seem to get any angrier and that make Jake release a breath of relief. 

“Hey--I’m just asking, okay? I have to worry. You’re my brother. I worry.” He said this gently and at his words, Troy seemed to relax. He didn’t smile, but Jake could see a slight glimmer in Troy’s eyes that signified he was happy at those words. “So you haven’t done… anything, right?”

There was slight hesitation and then Troy looked away, appearing almost ashamed, and it wasn’t an expression that Jake was used to seeing from his brother. 

“Oxy--” Jake took in a breath and straightened his back but Troy quickly continued before he could say anything. “But it was just one time and I hated it and he hasn’t even tried to get me to take anything else and I had asked him. It’s not his fault, he didn’t pressure me or put me up to it.” His words were quick and Jake had a feeling he wasn’t entirely telling the truth, but he let it pass, not wanting to start a huge argument. Fact is, his brother was old enough to take care of himself now. He could make his own choices; he’d been making them for a long time.

“Okay…” he said finally, nodding a little. “I can’t tell you want to do here, Troy. I just want you to be careful, okay? Don’t get too heavily involved. A person like that can be really dangerous, not only literally, but in the end all they care about is drugs. It’s not something you can change. They have to want to change it themselves.”

For a few moments, there wasn’t a reply and Jake worried that he’d made Troy angry again, but his next words were calm and rational. “Nick is the first person to look at me who doesn’t see me as a horrible person. Someone beyond being saved.”

Jake wanted to argue that he didn’t think that of Troy at all, but when he met his eyes, his words died on his lips. Both of them knew he would be lying, at least in part. 

“So I think it’s only fair that I give him the same chance that he gave me, right?” Troy didn’t wait for an answer, instead standing and, after grabbing his wallet and phone, left without another word.

He sat there for awhile, just staring at the empty space his brother had left in front of him before giving a smile. Well, who would have thought? Troy Otto actually having healthy thoughts towards another person?

Maybe he had been too quick to judge.


	3. Travis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i realized as i was writing this that i actually don't have as much fluff for this story as i thought... so I added a cute little bonus scene at the end to add in some cuteness to it!!

Some days, Travis wasn’t quite “in” it as others. Once again, his son Chris had refused to talk to him--no matter how hard his mother tried. It hurt, he understood it, but it did hurt. Chris felt like his father had abandoned his and his mother for a new family. He hadn’t, of course he hadn’t, but he wasn’t really sure how to make it up to Chris. And because of this, he had forgotten his lesson plans.

He supposed it was also harder on his son when Travis went to so many great lengths for Madison and her kids. Especially her son Nick.

For half of Nick’s life, he’d been a rather troubled child. Before he and Madison had begun dating, he remembered comforter her over a hot cup of coffee about her son who continued to make bad choices, no matter how hard she tried to keep him in check.

Travis remembered having Nick in one of his classes a couple of years ago. He remembered how smart he was, but also how quiet and uninvolved he’d been during classes. Travis had only posted a couple of times to get him involved before Nick had begun skipping his class all together. He tried not to take it personally--apparently the only classes Nick ever really attended and involved himself in was chemistry, no real surprise, and a short shop class. 

And then when he and Madison had gotten together… well neither Nick or Alicia had been particularly thrilled; Nick less so.

Travis unlocked the door to Madison (and now his) home in order to pick up the forgotten lesson plans that he needed for the second half of the day. He could only been thankful that he hadn’t forgotten the plans for the first part of the day and let out a breath, softly closing the door behind himself.

And then he heard noises.

Narrowing his eyes at his watch a little, Travis tilted his head and wondered who could possibly be home, before he recognized one of the voices, or rather one of the laughs. Nick?

Around this time was when Nick would either be passed out in bed, or out somewhere, no doubt getting high. So it was strange to hear his voice and he started heading towards the living room to go greet him and say high on his way to grab his lesson plans, when he heard the second voice. 

Troy. 

Travis wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about Troy. In fact, he only said that because he didn’t want to outright say he didn’t like him, but the way Troy always seemed to hesitate a little always struck him as if it were something more than just being nervous to shake his friend’s (sort of) step-father’s hand.

He didn’t want to interrupt, barely even wanted to eavesdrop, but, from where he was and what he was trying to find (where were those lesson plans…) it was sort of hard to not. Nick sat with his legs crossed on the couch, hands in his lap, while Troy sat opposite him on the same couch, arm swung over the back of it. 

Nick was laughing. It was a really foreign sound to hear. 

“Yeah, I don’t know. Never really thought that life on a ranch would be something I could ever be interested in.” Ranch? That’s right--Troy was basically a farm boy.

“It’s pretty great. Then again, it’s all I’ve ever been exposed to. Everyone I’ve ever known live there.”

“Yeah--what’s up with that? Did you not like… go to a normal school?” There was silence and Travis fought really hard to not listen but… he was curious about this Troy. Curious what had grown up to make him so--odd. Odd wasn’t even the right word, but he didn’t know what other kind of word to go for. 

“I mean--I did. For awhile. And I got homeschooled, so I didn’t miss out on anything once I was removed.” Troy sounded a little hesitant to share more than that and Nick seemed to notice and changed the subject. 

“I always hated school. It was all just a bunch of whiny brats complaining because their mother forgot to pack them a pudding in their lunch--and I’m talking about high school.” Troy gave a laugh, but it sounded a little unsure, almost as if all the words said were from another language. “They didn’t have real issues…”

“What kind of real issues?” 

Nick was silent, almost as if thinking about what sort of answer he wanted to give and Travis finally found his lesson plans. He did really need to get back to school… but maybe if he listened a bit more, there’d be something he could help with? Something that might help him and Madison get through to him? 

“Just--kind of everything. I played at happy as a kid, you know? Pretty well too, because my mom never expected how bad I was until I was a bit older. I think my dad could see it, but he was always--locked away. Physically and emotionally. He wasn’t there. Not when I needed him. And Alicia--she’s always been so perfect, I think it’s to make up for my lack of being… and my mom. She’s just, always been so protective of me, me more than anyone, as if I’d slip through her fingers just like my dad did. He killed himself, my dad. Mom doesn’t know that I know, but I do. It wasn’t hard to figure out.”

Travis took in a breath as he listened to Nick’s words. There was silence and then shuffling and he could see Troy moving closer, sliding his arm around Nick to pull him closer. Travis knew that they were dating, but he didn’t know how real Troy’s feelings were for Nick until then. They looked real, at least.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore. It’s not really putting me into a good headspace.”

Feeling like he had heard enough, Travis quietly took his lesson plans and left the two of them alone, not wanting to intrude any longer.

\--

Nick swiped his fingers through his long hair, basically digging his head into Troy’s shoulder. He could feel his head begin to ache, feel his body begin to grow a bit colder but he held the aches off, taking in a deep breath before pulling back his head to look at his boyfriend with a soft smile.

Who would’ve thought four months ago that he’d be in this place now? Definitely not him. It was quite the shock, meeting Troy, things happening as they did. It’d been an adventure, he’d even go as far to say, and he certainly hadn’t regretted a minute of it. 

“You know your mother’s Travis was listening in on us, don’t you?” Troy pointed out and Nick blinked at the sudden statement. No, he hadn’t been aware, so he shook his head and said it didn’t really matter anyway. “I really think you should come back to the ranch with me. It’d be… good for you.”

Nick gives a wry grin. Good for him. Huh. Nick wasn’t really sure what was good for him anymore. “I’m not sure the cowboy lifestyle is suited to me very much.”

“You never really know until you give it a shot--I could teach you how to shoot a gun.” Nick gives a grimace at the idea of it. Guns had never been his thing. “I could teach you how to ride a horse.”

“I’ve ridden a horse.” Troy raised his brows. “At a farmer’s market--ha, now I’m imagining you in a booth with a ton of tomatoes, or helping little kids onto all the small ponies.” 

Now it was Troy’s turn to grimace. “You would have to kill me first. I’d be the walking dead helping those kids onto horses. Kids are a bit…”

“I like kids.” Nick said suddenly, noticing automatically the look on his boyfriend’s face. “They’re innocent. They don’t know any bad in the world, yet. I miss being one of those.”

“I was never innocent, Nick.” Nick grabbed his hand and offered him up a smile, locking their fingers together. Troy’s eyes dropped to their hands, tightening his grip around Nick’s. 

“Kids and you have one thing in common.” Troy looked at him curiously and Nick inched a little closer. “I like kids… and I like you. I like you… a lot.”

Their lips pressed together and Troy thought quietly to himself that he also liked Nick--maybe even more than liked Nick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what do you guys think? Would you like to see Nick go to the ranch with Troy? (i'm positive i know the answer to this...)


	4. Madison

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i tried really hard to give this a cute, fluffy ending. i was gonna make it funny and humurous but lmao.. yeah that didn't happen!! I'm SORRY!! ahh i'm so bad at fluff. everything i write turns out angsty adhaahfl I just like drama i guess. 
> 
> also, Madison is... very far from my favorite character, like as far from my favorite as ya can go tbh, but I tried to do her respect in this chapter and I hope I did well :)

The day that Nick had been born, Madison swore to protect him no matter the costs. And that’s what she had always tried to do--protect him. Protect him from outside forces, like the time he shoved a pebble up his nose and got it stuck or the time he swam a little bit too far out to the beach and nearly drowned. 

She tried to look after him, keep a close eye, but every time she would even glance away for a moment… Nick would run off, doing something destructive, even before he knew what the word meant. 

He was too much like his father. Too much like Steven who tried so hard for other people, but kept getting heavier until eventually, there was nothing left. Nick had grown up with it, grown up with seeing his father slowly shut down, and she knew how it affected herself; she could only imagine how Nick had felt about it.

But she knew what it had caused.

Madison still remembered the talk she’d had with Nick when he was thirteen. About pot and the dangers and consequences. She remembered thinking, “oh thank god it’s just pot”. How she wished it were still. 

Nick hadn’t said anything during the lecture, just stared at the ground and took it in stride, promised he wouldn’t do it again and then left. Madison had been slightly worried but knew her son well enough to know he’d never lie to her. He said he wouldn’t do it again and she trusted that.

What she hadn’t known was how much… worse it was getting. Rehabs atop of rehabs, going days, sometimes a week or more, without hearing from Nick, wondering if he was even still alive.

Every time the phone rang, they were terrified it’d be the police or the hospital calling to tell them that he was dead. They’d almost lost him once, in fact; he’d overdosed and cried, promising that he’d try to get better. But the moment he’d gotten out of the hospital, he was gone and it was three days before Nick came stumbling back home. 

Madison some days wondered where she had failed as a mother. Had she not given him enough attention? Had she not taught him dangers of drugs properly? But deep down she knew it wasn’t her fault, Nick had been born surrounded by darkness, just like Steven had been. 

Lately, however, and as if by some miracle, Nick was… showing signs of improvement. Madison didn’t know how firmly she could use the word “improvement”, as she was still positive that her son was using, could still the see the signs of him being high or drunk or both, but it wasn’t as much and it wasn’t as bad.

She thought this boy (although he was hardly a boy, a grown man of twenty-three or twenty-four more accurately) had something to do with it. But something felt strange in the back of her mind. Was this guy really good for her son?

He was doing okay. He seemed happy, so that must mean he was good for him. 

Madison wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about her son being in a relationship with a man--she had no issues with gay people themselves, but her son had already had such a difficult life, and with everything that happened with Gloria, Madison wasn’t sure if this was some sort of phase or rebound or the real deal. 

Either way, it was what it was and she was certainly trying to accept it. 

It was mid-day on a Sunday. Like normal, nobody was in the house. Alicia was out with Matt and Travis had actually managed somehow to get Chris to willingly spend the day with him. Nick was never home. Even now he was so rarely home that Madison knew she had the house to herself.

She was going through the bedrooms, picking up clothes to put in the wash. Her kids were certainly old enough to do their own laundry, but she was still their mother and didn’t mind doing things for them once in awhile.

After closing the door to Alicia’s room, she walked over to her son’s. Nick never liked it when she went into his room, but he didn’t like it when he did drugs, so she supposed they were even.

She pushed the door open and automatically froze. The sight of her shirtless son on top of his boyfriend not having at all been what she expected when she opened the door.

“Mom!” he yelled out and she snapped out of it, automatically closing the door and clenching her eyes shut, trying to will away the burned image of something that she had never, ever, wanted to witness.

Ten minutes later saw her sitting at the dining room table, the basket of laundry placed on a chair as she held her head in her hand, rubbing at the temples. How was she supposed to process this? Talk about this with her son? They’d had the talk when he was going through puberty, but… this had never been a part of that talk and wasn’t that part of her motherly duty?

Footsteps echoed down the stairs and then there was the sound of a door closing. A moment later she looked up and Nick was just leaning against the doorframe, looking down at his feet. She was pretty sure he looked how she felt; completely awkward and out of place. 

His shirt was back on, a loose pair of sweats tugged on over his legs. She sighed as she eyed his hair, long and unkempt, like it normally was, but she couldn’t get the image of Troy’s fingers tangled in his hair out of her head now--

Nick picked at his fingernails, not looking up at her and she gently pushed back a chair, gesturing for him to sit. He paused or a second, glancing at her and the chair before pushing off the frame and walking to lower himself onto the chair, barely looking at her.

She didn’t really know where to start. 

“So… we should talk--about what I just saw…” 

Nick paused at playing with his fingers and then dropped his hands onto his laps. He looked smaller than he actually was in clothes that were much too big for him and he pulled those big brown eyes up to meet her’s and Madison remembered the first time she’d seen them and fallen in love with them. 

“What’s to talk about?” He questioned, his words a little drawn out, a little slurred. He was always so high that his speech pattern had seemed to take on the permanent sound of a person high.

“Are you safe?” She asked and he cleared his throat, looking even more awkward and embarrassed then before.

“Jesus, mom--”

“Are you?” She pressed, her motherly instinct kicking in and overriding her own awkwardness.

“Yes,” he tossed up a hand, almost as if waving her question away. “Yes, we’re safe. We use condoms, and lubricant, there’s even a safe word--” she looked away as his eyes sparkled mischievously. He said this all in order to make her uncomfortable, and she knew that. But she wouldn’t let it phase her. 

“There are risks and dangers involved in relationships like this, you just need to be aware and careful and prepared--”

“What, like pregnancy?” He joked and of course he wasn’t taking this seriously. Madison should’ve figured. “Mom, I’m nineteen.” He points out after a moment. “I can make my own choices.”

“That’s what worries me.” He fell silent at her words and she straightened her back a little, proud that she’d actually won this round. “Your choices have never been really the best ones. I just want to make sure that this one isn’t one of your mistakes.”

“Troy is a good person.” Nick said firmly and at once. He sucked in his lip as he said it and something about his words and the way he said them made Madison hesitate. “He’s good for me. He’s really good for me and to me--”

“I can tell.” She says softly and it was true. She couldn’t help the feeling he gave off, but she’d seen the way they interacted. Troy did seem to treat her son right and he was high a lot less than he used to be, so that was something to be thankful for. 

Nick looked at her and then sat forward a little, hands gripping at the edge of his seat. “He--he’s actually from about… two hours south of San Diego. He grew up on a ranch. He’s a farm boy.” Nick shook his head, a small smile on his face and Madison looked at him closely, paying attention to what he was getting at. “It sounds… it sounds really nice there. I’ve never really thought about living on a farm or country living as being for me, but the things Troy tells me about it…”

“What are you saying?” She said slowly, thinking she knew but needing to make sure.

“I think I need to go check it out.” He whispers, his eyes wide and shining, but with fright as he thought about how his mother might react. “Being here--it’s so bad for me. There’s drugs everywhere and god--I love being high.” 

Nick let out a shaky breath, looking happy at the mere thought of being high and it caused Madison to swallow tightly. It always hurt, when Nick talked about drugs as if they were the most precious thing to him; the sad thing was, they probably were. 

“I love it so much and I don’t… I don’t want to stop.” He shook his head, a wide smile on his face before it broke and he frowned. His brows narrowed, creating a line between them in thought. “But I need to. I don’t… I don’t want what happened to Gloria to happen to me. I don’t want to die.”

The pain in her son’s voice was apparent and her heart ached for him, ached at for the what had become of her small child who had been so full of joy and life as a kid. She reached forward, grasping his hand tightly in hers.

“And you won’t--we can get you help. Good help. And I’m here for you, Nick. And Alicia is here for you--Travis. We’re all here for you.” His eyes flickered across her face and she continued to smile. Her son wanted help. She would get him help.

“Yeah…” he replied slowly with a small nod, trying to smile as well. “Yeah. Of course.” 

Knowing her son wanted help and wanted to get better made her happier than she’d been in a long time. She loved her son, and she would do anything in her power to protect him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Madison tries very hard to protect Nick, but by trying to protect him, she's in fact just making it worse because what Nick needs isn't necessarily what she wants


	5. Liza

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter left! I'm actually going to try and write it today/tomorrow (thursday) and get it posted because I'm going out of state and won't be back until Sunday afternoon so I won't actually get to post anything for an entire 2 days, oh no!! (since i'm posting multiple things a day, I feel like I'm going to go through withdrawal).
> 
> Anyways, I just want to say that even though there's only one more chapter left of this fic... ah... well it seems to have spawned something else as originally I was going to do some bonus chapters but I've got ideas flowing... and I'm now going to be writing a sequel to this. Not another 5+1 but a full course fic... along with a prequel about how Nick and Troy even met and got together!! I'm excited!!! Please enjoy :)

The day that she had first met Madison Clark, Liza had automatically not liked her. Sure, a bit of it had to do with Travis, but there was just something that didn’t sit right with her. Madison seemed as if she never truly told the entire truth about anything, but Travis seemed to think the world of her.

Maybe Liza was just jealous and bitter. 

Her kids were certainly something else. Not that they were bad kids, just… something else. The girl, Alicia, she seemed smart, talented. LIza was sure she would go places, but she seemed a bit too eager to get out and away from her entire family. Liza certainly couldn’t blame her, knowing how they were.

The boy, on the other hand… Liza couldn’t help but to sigh a little when she thought about him. As a mother of a young man as well, she couldn’t ever imagine what she would do if chris got himself into the same situations as Nick.

She had heard about the things he was into from Travis. One night the boy had disappeared, his mother and Travis terrified he’d wind up dead. So Travis had asked her to keep an eye out at the hospital, just in case he turned up. She might not like Madison, but she understood the feelings of a mother.

But that had been awhile ago and she hadn’t heard anything from Travis about Nick missing recently. That’s why it was a surprise when she turned the corner of the emergency room and found nick and another man around his age sitting together and conversing in hushed and hurried whispers. 

“I can’t let my mom find out this happened… I know what she’ll do--she’ll send me back to rehab and I can’t go back there again, Troy.” Troy? She hadn’t heard this name before.

“Is it really so bad, Nicky?”

“Not bad, but--I can’t take the disappointment again. Every time she looks at me that way… it just makes me want to get high again, because then I don’t care--I don’t feel bad about who is worried or who is disappointed.” Nick almost sounded desperate as she walked up and that’s when she noticed a gash on his leg, dried blood sticking his jeans to his skin.

“Nick?” She said and the young man’s head snapped up, wondering who would possibly know his name. 

“Oh… Ms. Ortiz. Hey…” Nick suddenly appeared nervous, rubbing his hands up and down his arms as if to remove the track marks from his skin.

“Hi,” she turned her head quizzically towards this Troy person.

“Right--um, this is Troy, my friend. Troy, this is Liza Ortiz, Travis’ wife.”

“Ex--” she said pointedly. Nick looked apologetic. “Wife. Also a nurse. What happened?”

The two glanced at each other before Nick sighed and pointed at his leg. “Cyclist hit me.”

Liza hummed and nodded, grabbing a glove from her pocket and put it on before she kneeled down and gently peeled back the torn denim. “Well, it’s a pretty nasty cut, but you shouldn’t need stitches. Once its cleaned up you should be good and hopefully not get any infections.” She then stood and looked don at the two of them. “Did you take anything?”

They both glanced at each other, neither speaking.

“Anything you tell me is bound by patient/doctor confidentiality. I won’t be able to tell anyone, not the police, not even your mother.” Since neither of them were her patient, technically it wasn’t bound, but they didn’t need to know that.

“Uh,” Nick took in a deep breath. “Troy, he doesn’t do drugs, but I… might’ve done a little heroin earlier.” His voice was quiet, almost as if he were ashamed to admit it.

Iza kept any sort of look off of her face before pointing to Troy, gesturing him to follow her. “You, come talk to me for a minute.” Her voice was no nonsense, showing that he didn’t really have a choice in the matter. 

Both looked taken aback, but Troy slowly stood and followed her down the hall out of earshot from Nick who craned his neck towards them, almost as if trying to overhear them despite the impossibility of being able to.

“You care about Nick, right?” Before he could answer, she continued. “I can tell. You care.” 

Troy’s back straightened up and he nodded firmly at her correct assessment. “I do.”

“Then don’t let him kill himself.” He made a noise at her words and she shook her head, holding her hand up so that he wouldn’t interrupt her. “That boy is on the fast track to death. Whether that be because of overdosing, by a dirty needle, or because he pissed off the wrong dealer. He will die if he continues like this, if you don’t stop him from doing this to himself”

They both looked over at Nick who seemed to have busied himself by pulling tissues from a box. Liza noted the soft smile that spread to Troy’s face and pressed on.

“You can help him. He wants help and he seems like he respects you enough that he would listen to you.”

Troy looked back down towards her, looking as if he were hesitating. “I don’t know how to help someone. The last time I did…” his voice faded away and a steely expression came over his face.

“You just need to do what’s best for him, not for yourself.” Not like what his mother did, she thought, but didn’t say aloud.

There was silence for a moment before Troy smiled brightly. Liza got the impression that it wasn’t something that he did very often.

“I know how to help him.” Troy turned and walked back over to Nick, now surrounding himself with flowers made out of the tissue, looking more like a child than anything.

As Liza watched them, she felt that Nick was in good hands.


	6. Nick & Troy

Troy wasn’t really used to being nervous, but ever since he had met Nick, he’d been a little more nervous every single day than before. Whether that was just a mix of the way Nick made him feel, or the thought that he might do something wrong that would cause Nick to push him away (or maybe a mix of both), he wasn’t really sure. But he was constantly in a state of butterflies in his stomach.

He kind of hated it, yet, at the same time, he wouldn’t be rid of them for anything.

Still, this nervousness was slightly different than the general nerves that he felt around Nick. Those didn’t really have any particular rhyme or reason, just that they were because Nick was around--but these ones? These had a specific purpose and he worried that Nick… wouldn’t go along with it or take it quite as well as he hoped. 

Troy wasn’t sure what he would do if Nick said no. Would that be it? Would they be over? Would Nick laugh in his face and tell him that they weren’t that serious so why in the hell would he go along with Troy’s plan?

The idea made Troy angry and upset but he shook it away. He really shouldn’t get himself worked up over something that might not even happen. At the very least, Nick wouldn’t be that mean. He wasn’t mean, not even a little bit. 

But as he sat at the table, waiting for Nick to show up, he couldn’t help but to think back, back to someone else he hadn’t thought would laugh in his face, and yet they had. Troy could feel the pressure in his jaw as he clenched it, his hands tightening their grip around his mug. There was no point in thinking about him, that was over--and Troy would control himself. He wouldn’t get mad. 

He didn’t want Nick to see that side of him and decide he wasn’t worth the effort.

A door opened and his head snapped up quickly, only for him to let out a breath and slide down in his chair a little when it wasn’t Nick. Troy glanced at his watch, messing with it a little. 

Twenty minutes. Nick was twenty minutes late. 

The worry built inside of his chest again. Nick wasn’t normally so late. He was usually pretty on time when it came to Troy.

He dug out his phone, shooting a quick text; where are you?

He set it down in front of himself, his leg tapping as he stared at it, taking small sips of his now cold coffee. Troy wished he had any idea of where Nick might be, but he wasn’t answering his phone, and he really didn’t want to show up at the Clark door and worry his mother if he wasn’t there.

Another five minutes passes and… nothing. He was just about to shoot off another text, when the shop door opened again and he let out a sharp breath in relief as Nick came walking in, but the relief fell away when he got a good look at him.

His hair was a mess, it was normally a mess, but it was especially a mess now. It was knotted and greasy looking, like it hadn’t been washed in a couple of days. His skin was pale as he rubbed his hand over his cheek, heading over towards the table in the corner that Troy had grabbed for them. His eyes were red, dark circles wrapping around them. Nick looked as if he hadn’t slept in a good forty-eight hours, at least and Troy figured that he probably hadn’t. 

The clothes he wore were also a mess; wrinkly and much too big for him and Troy bit on his lip as Nick dropped down into the chair across from him. Troy looked at him for a moment, waiting for Nick to say something, anything, but he didn’t and Troy sighed, slowly standing. “I’ll get you a coffee.” 

Nick nodded against his hand, his eyes closed and looking as if he’d fallen asleep sitting up. Troy hesitates before walking up to the counter, ordering Nick his favorite coffee drink, and asking for an extra shot of espresso in it to get him to hopefully be more alert. 

A few minutes later, he walked back over, setting the cup down in front of Nick who took it at once, taking a long drink, not seeming to mind how hot it was. “Thanks--” he croaked out before clearing his throat, finally pulling his eyes up to look at Troy. “Sorry, sorry… I didn’t sleep very well. I know I’m late.”

“It’s okay,” Troy replies before he can stop himself and Nick gives him a smile, taking another drink. They were both silent for a moment as Nick continued to drink, leaning forward heavily in his seat. “...Are you high?” 

A quick burst of laughter shot from Nick’s lips and then he quickly covered his mouth with his hand, tilting his head at Troy, looking at him with a sparkling and amused gaze. “Is that an actual question?”

Troy could only stare at him and the smile fell off of Nick’s face, his boyfriend slowly pushing his coffee a little to the side. “It is an actual question…” Nick chewed on his lip and Troy wanted to do nothing more than reach over and grab his jaw and make him stop, but he held back the urge. “I took a bit… of--my usual.” Nick peered down at his lap, looking a little ashamed as he seemed to be able to tell that Troy was disappointed in him. 

With a soft sigh, Troy tried to quell back the said disappointment. Nick didn’t need that on him. It was difficult. Troy wasn’t very used to beating around the bush or treading carefully as far as emotions were concerned, but Nick was important to him. So he would try.

“Nick… I have something to ask you and--I’m not very good at expressing my emotions.” Troy said slowly, thinking over his words as he spoke them. He treaded carefully, unsure of how Nick would react to any of this, his plan, his idea.

“Okay?” Nick blinked, looking a little more aware now that he had drank his coffee, but still just as worn down as he had when he’d first walked in. 

Troy glanced upwards, meeting Nick’s gaze. How was it someone that he had really only met a few months before had already become such a huge, important part of his life? People he had known since he was a child weren’t this important to him, so how had Nick done it? Nick who did nothing but binge himself on drugs day in and day out. Nick who was stressed and broken and unsure of who he was or what he was doing with his life.

But Troy was the same way, maybe not the drugs, but he had never really known where he was going, what his purpose was. Did he even have one? Maybe Nick could be his purpose. 

Slowly, and a little uncomfortably (he really wasn’t used to any sort of physical contact, let alone with that of a significant other), he reached over, grasping Nick’s hand. He stared down at the tanned skin, dirt stuck beneath the nails, and wondered how could they be so different and also so similar. 

“Come with me.” Nick looked confused a this words and Troy breathed in, knowing he would have to explain. “To the ranch, come with me.”

“You’re going back?” Troy could feel the fingers tighten around his hand, almost possessively, as he nodded.

“I need to--this has been an… interesting experiment, and I certainly like the new things it brought to my life,” Troy smiled across at Nick, feeling absolutely struck by all the emotions swimming inside of him. “But the ranch is where I’m supposed to be. The city? It’s something. But it’s not for me. And I don’t think it’s for you either.”

Nick seemed to be thinking over the words, thoughts turning over in his head slowly. Troy waited for some response, any response, but it didn’t come automatically, and then it did. 

“I’d been thinking about it, if I’m honest.” Nick’s voice was quiet and Troy, for a moment, thought that he had misheard him. “I mentioned it to my mom… she didn’t even seem to think it was an actual option, but…” He pulls his eyes up to Troy, gnawing on his lip and instead of wanting to grab his jaw to stop him, this time Troy wanted to lean forward and kiss him. “I can’t be a good boyfriend to you until I’m sober. Until then… maybe even after then, it’s almost impossible to love anything more than the drugs.”

Troy nodded because he might not understand perfectly, but he got it. He’d seen the way alcohol had been for his parents; they had loved nothing more than the drink and it twisted them because of it. Nick was the same way, but, unlike his parents, Nick was still trying to fight.

Troy wanted to help him fight.

“Is that a yes?” He couldn’t breath until he knew for sure--until he heard Nick say the word. 

“That’s a hell yes.” Nick laughed and Troy wanted to kiss him then and there, but they were in public and he wasn’t that confident, but he was content just sitting there, grasping tightly onto his hand.

He wasn’t going to let Nick go. Ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's it! For now... as this is only part 1! Yes there will be 2 more parts... a prequel about how Nick and Troy met, and then a sequel about what happens after the end of this story. I have a feeling both of those are going to end up much longer than this one (the prequel though will have fewer chapters, I feel like the chapters will be much longer so it may even out, we'll see). 
> 
> I'm going out of state for a couple of days so you won't see any new fics at least until Sunday (i know, three whole days, that's forever when I've been spamming ya'll every single day!!) but i'll be writing when I'm not getting ready for the BTS concert so I should hopefully have new stuff ready when I get back to type up and upload!
> 
> Thank you guys SO MUCH for reading this and supporting me. Ya'll have been fantastic! A special thanks to Ms_Tony_Padilla for inspiring this whole thing with their prompt and as such, inspiring a whole damn series... what have I gotten myself into, tbh. Enjoy!


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